My Pokemans

Oh, the wonderful time of the new year when I start posting again.

This week’s topic is childhood.  I’m 22 years old, and I’d like to think that I’ve reached some semblance of adulthood.  I have my own place, my own income, my own health insurance.  I’m getting married in a few months.  I finally have a freakin’ graduation date.

But still, I thought I could make it to a solid 24, maybe 25, before getting nostalgic.  And yet, in my grown-up bedroom, a huge tub of Legos can be found under the bed, and there are stacks of Pokemon cards (organized by type, no less) on my desk.  Apparently, my maturity level peaked at 20.

Pokemon.  I want to look back from a logical standpoint; a company made a successful video game, and then milked it for all it was worth.  That’s all there is to it, right?

But damn those little bastards were awesome.

I was hooked.  I played Pokemon Blue, beat it, and then spent hours browsing the web to see if there was a legitimate Mew code out there, or if I could move that damn truck (remember how ridiculous some of those “codes” got?).  I pre-ordered Pokemon Silver.  I bought the figures.  I watched the movies (and even the show, which part of me even then thought was bad).  And I collected the trading cards.

I still can’t figure out what made those cards so popular with my friends.  Because most of them didn’t realize that it was called the Pokemon “Trading Card Game.”  It was a game!  It was a dumbed down version of Magic: The Gathering (which a few friends were getting in to) but at the time, it was easier to get into, with only a couple different sets of cards to choose from.  To me, it was like the original game, but with real, physical collectables.  And all my friends collected them too, so there should have been tons of people to play with.

Except nobody else knew how to play.

They bought the expansion packs, and they traded for their favorites, and then their cards just…sat there.  It was mindboggling.  And I think that’s why I can’t fully denounce my Pokemon-addled past.  Sure, I was caught up in the hype, but I really liked the games.  I was legit, if it was even possible.

And now?  Now, I still want to play it.  I still have the cards.  Hell, I even found a card swapping site just to see if I could get rid of some extras to pick up some that would be more useful.  Some days, I’m tempted to grab one of the newest expansion packs, just for kicks.  Apparently you’re never too young to remember your youth.

One last note on Pokemon; My fiance and I both had the same favorite Pokemon: Vaporeon.  It was meant to be.